1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing system, an external device, and an image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for observing the inside of a subject such as a human being or an animal include a tube-type endoscope and a capsule endoscope (hereinbelow, simply called a body-insertable apparatus). The tube-type endoscope includes an electronic endoscope whose distal end is provided with a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) sensor and a fiber scope in which a bundle of optical fibers is inserted in a tube, and obtains images of the inside of a subject by inserting the tube from the mouse, the anus, or the like of a subject (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3,898,781). The body-insertable apparatus is small enough that a human, an animal, or the like can swallow it. For example, the body-insertable apparatus is introduced orally and periodically captures images of the inside of the subject. The images of the inside of the subject captured are transmitted as wireless signals to an external receiving device. The observer individually or continuously reproduced a plurality of images obtained by the tube-type endoscope or the body-insertable apparatus by a display device and diagnoses the inside of the subject by examining the images.
In recent years, a so-called multi-eye body-insertable apparatus having a plurality of (for example, two) imaging units is disclosed. With the multi-eye body-insertable apparatus, the inside of a subject can be imaged from many directions, so that more specific, accurate diagnosis can be realized (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-246147).
In recent years, to address a demand for improving the efficiency of diagnosis by image reading, there is proposed a medical system in which a display device is provided with a so-called overview function of reducing a plurality of pieces of image data obtained by a test and displaying a list of the reduced image data (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-75155).